Tag: wedding tips

My wedding is in 12 days, and I’ll be Mrs. Young and I am just bursting at the seams with joy, but man I don’t know where I am coming or going. It’s been non stop the last week with finalizing the wedding timeline, and everything with our vendors, etc and running Brianna Michelle Beauty. Talk about wedding brain!!!! It’s more like I have no brain- LOL However, I am SO FREAKING EXCITED!!!

Sometimes you always know and I always knew I would feel this sense of satisfaction, and love fulfillment when I got married. Planning a wedding changes you and getting married changes you. It is something that is hard to describe, but you just change and I cant describe it, but it is like all of a sudden you feel the most loved, beautiful, wholeness that ever is. Perhaps it is like when you become a mom for the first time or how my mom friends are always explaining to me- well thats how I feel and I cant wait to share all the personal growth I have developed in myself since I have been on this journey to married life with my big girl pants on now! 🙂 I can hardly wait for the wedding! I am ready to become a wife and the queen of my castle!

So I am sharing with you a few things that I discovered to be prepared for during the last 2 weeks of your wedding day. Hope you find them helpful and if there is something I missed, please share below in the comments section!

Photo by Kathy Cuadra Photography.

THINGS DO GET HECTIC- BE PREPARED.

I got almost all my planning done by the end of April and things finalized. Literally everything down to the bridesmaids gifts, wedding favors and cake topper. This gave me some room my last few weeks for any upcoming incidentals, reconfirming with all my vendors, or things I wasn’t expecting to incur such as people not rsvp-ing on time, hunting them down and making sure my venue had all the items on the menu that we agreed some months ago during our tasting.

Yes, double check with all your vendors. There were a few items we had on the menu we selected months ago, that our venue contact said they were not carrying on the menu anymore, but luckily they were able to accommodate us so nicely. Price we paid for choosing a great venue and not the cheapest one on the list. You do get what you pay for.

TIMELINE

I am still struggling to get this done and hope to have it done this week. Plan for at least 3 days so you don’t go crazy and work on it a little each day, if your doing it on your own and not hiring a coordinator.

I started with hair and makeup getting ready in the morning at 9am all the way down to the 11pm sparkler send off! Don’t forget to add on your timeline when your are signing the marriage license. Most do it right after the ceremony in the back room somewhere nearby.

DON’T FORGET YOUR TRIAL

Even if your a destination bride and flying in a day or two before, schedule a trial the day before. I actually had my hair trial months ago, and thank God I did. While the hairstylist did exactly what I asked for and was terrific, I didn’t like the look on myself and opted for something else. I was able to have a few trials here in Vegas with my own team, so she will be able to duplicate on the day of. I am doing my own makeup- everyone asks! :))

MAKE NOTE OF SPECIAL PHOTOS

If your like me and have this vision of how you want your photos to turn out and what shots are physically in your mind, I recommend taking some sample screen shots of some looks and not only sending them to your photographer via Pinterest, but writing them down on the timeline, so that as you go through it your Coordinator or Maid of Honor can make sure those shots are getting done. For example, if there’s certain shots you want with specific family members or the bride and groom shot with the brides veil over them or the fabulous and most popular sparkler send off shot add them to the wedding timeline!

PREPARE FOR GRATUITY

While most vendors include gratuity in their wedding contracts, it’s always appreciated to ask the venue or vendor if gratuity is included. I have personally set aside cash gratuity in envelopes for all my vendors.

DELEGATE

It’s okay to allow people to help you! Your not expected to do everything on your own. Have a few people aside to be your “Gofers” so that they can help things go a bit more smooth on wedding day. I have set aside my bridesmaids and in additional another close friend.

IN ADDITION….

Last but not least, if you are generally not an organized person, HIRE A WEDDING PLANNER! Add it into your budget before booking anyone. I run a business, and I am extremely organized and this was ALOT for me. While we almost eloped I am so happy we are doing it the way I always dreamed of, even though it was so expensive. I can look back and feel good about the way we planned everything and became a MRS.!!!!!

Did I miss anything? Have a helpful tip to share leading to the countdown of the last 2 wedding weeks? Comment below your suggestions and helpful tips!

It’s been quite the journey shopping for a wedding dress! I wanted to share a little bit of my wedding planning experience and a bit of this journey with you because I felt is was SO important to get a different perspective and take on it all. Being on the other side of the wedding business, has certainly been a huge eye opener and I hope this brings some clarity to perhaps another bride who is on the fence about her wedding dress or just taking the plunge into investing into the entire wedding experience!

My fiancee’ and I were so close to eloping, but I am so glad that we ended up having the traditional wedding pulling out all the bells and whistles and experiencing every last detail of the planning process. I knew going into it first hand that my dress was going to be a big deal because I am super picky to how things fit me. I have a true hourglass shape and most clothing always has to be altered or taken in at the waist.

With a mutual decision on a comfortable budget, I ventured out to find the perfect dress the week I got engaged- BIG MISTAKE. Well, I found a dress. It was gorgeous!!! I had a little teary-eyed moment and thought it was the ONE. It fit me perfectly and had a stunning corset back which cinched my waist perfectly and I truly felt beautiful and perfect. The best thing that I was excited about was the dress fell within my budget and I even got $100 off for mentioning them on facebook.

Fast forward several a month later, after choosing our venue, I realized the dress just didnt match or go and was missing some intimate details and after re-looking at more wedding dresses out there, I realized my dress was NOT THE ONE and my vision had totally changed. It was a gorgeous dress, but didnt feel the mood and light and could not imagine me in the dress in the venue with the flowers, etc. that we had chosen.

My mom thought perhaps when I had the dress altered, I would have a change of tune, but after getting it hemmed and busseled, I still felt something was missing, so I began to search for a second dress thinking how CRAZY I must be!

In March, my mom, fiancee and I flew up to Chicago to look at our venue, meet with our florist and a few other vendors. Killing some time, my mom and I walked into the bridal shop and low and behold- I found MY DRESS! My mom and I had our moment and it felt SO RIGHT! Mira Couture was probably the best bridal experience in wedding dress shopping and TRUST ME, I went to many in Vegas and back home in Louisville and none gave as great customer service than Mira Couture. in Chicago. They were able to alter it right then and there for me- all but the front hem because I did not have my shoes with me.

The moral of this story, is wait until you choose your venue and flowers before going dress shopping and DO NOT SKIMP AND GO CHEAP when it comes to the way you look. Take your time. For the amount of money that I have spent on both dresses and alterations, I could have had a wow dress. Trust me my new dress is beautiful, but just DO IT! You wont regret feeling extra beautiful and confident on the most important day of your life! I try my new dress on just about every week and get so excited! I never felt I could feel so beautiful in one wedding dress! The confidence that I feel in this dress, I know will show through in our photos and it will be picture perfect!

It was crazy to think that it took me 7 months to find a dress and I got my dress 4 months before my wedding day, but when it feels right it just happens. Kind of like love.

Hope this helps someone with a decision they are making when it comes to the way they look and feel! Did anyone have a similar experience? How long did it take you to find a wedding dress?

Not sure how to find the right bridal makeup look for you? With so many styles and looks out there, how do you decide on just one look for the most important day of your life! Here are some helpful tips and tools to help you in finding that perfect look for you that will make heads turn!

Start With The Dress

Yep! Its nearly impossible to create a custom bridal makeup look without knowing what your dress will look like. Your wedding dress sets the tone and the mood for your overall look and feel. Ask yourself…..is my dress elegant, bohemian, more sophisticated… This will help determine the look, mood and feel that will help set the tone.

Start A Pinterest Board

I always recommend to my brides to start a pinterest board and pinning different bridal makeup looks that you like. This is so helpful for your makeup artist. Once you pin a good few, we can start to see a pattern of what you like and it helps to start forming a look for you!

Think About Your Colors

Colors play a huge factor in designing and creating a bridal makeup look for you! If theres a certain pink shade, in your wedding bouquet, we like to match and pair it up with particular pink lip color. Or, perhaps bring our some additional wedding shades in the eye look. Make sure you communicate your wedding colors and bridesmaids dress colors to your artist so he or she can create something that will compliment these shades.

Share A Selfie

I always require a selfie and inspiration images, being sent to me before signing of contract, so that I can evaluate my brides face shape and be able to communicate to her my thoughts and ideas on the look and how that will translate on her with her facial features before evening stepping into the trial session or day of. Sometimes, we think a certain look would look great on us but if we have smaller or inset eyes, perhaps, another look could be more complimentary.

Overall, it is so important to hire the right makeup artist that can address all your concerns, as well as help you discover your dream look. A experienced makeup artist in bridal specifically can help you determine and discover all of this during the trial session or even before so your day of runs perfectly smooth and stress free!

Hello my beauties! Welcome to the blog of bridal makeup tips, wedding inspiration and more. I am Brianna Michelle, owner, educator and transformation artist of Brianna Michelle Beauty an award-winning, mobile hair and makeup business available worldwide. My passion for beauty and transforming women through makeup started at the very young age of 14 when I used makeup to make myself feel beautiful after getting bullied in middle school during my youth. In order to prove that every woman can feel beautiful and find her beauty within, out came the creation of Brianna Michelle Beauty. I hope to inspire women that each and every woman can gain confidence and feel beautiful through makeup transformation. Kisses, Brianna Michelle

love notes

I have to say with working with so many people coming from all over the place to get married Brianna and her team have this down to a science. Victoria came in and was absolutely AMAZING! I could not have dreamed of a more wonderful person to help make my day exactly as I had hoped for. My Mother In Law also looked amazing as for someone who is older, fairer skin and doesn’t wear a lot of makeup Victoria was great at communicating with her and making sure she looked great!- 7/31/18

Mandy S.

Wonderful, wonderful job! I am in the beauty business, in Chicago, & 7 of us girls traveled to Vegas for a birthday. I am so happy I found such a wonderful business!!!! Not only was Victoria fun and professional, she did beyond amazing job taking her time with each of us, she worked her butt off and worked late on a Saturday.- 12/13/2016

Megan B.

This was the single most relaxing moment I had prior to my marriage! If there is something that can happen in your day that makes you feel more relaxed, this is priceless! I did not have to look in the mirror to see the result, I only had to look in my husband’s eyes to know what a wonderful job they did! -6/13/2013

M.K.

Lisa and Kristi were amazing!!! I had myself and a party of 8 girls including moms, and we all looked incredible! It was hard finding a team that accommodated such a large party, and these girls rocked it! They both asked alot of questions which I appreciated and I felt like a princess on my special day! -8/7/2017

Rachel Lim

“You always dream to be the most beautiful bride on your wedding day and I can say with confidence that Bri far exceeded my expectations.When I saw myself in the mirror I was in such awe and in shock how beautiful I was that I couldn’t believe it was me! I looked that stunning all because of her!”

Victoria Cook

“I felt like a celebrity and hair and makeup held up all day with no problems at all.”

Megan Duggar

“Professional, talented and such a sweetheart. Brianna made me look beautiful – it was still me but an enhanced version!”

Julie Takanashi

“The next day I was looking through photos and started crying, because I have never felt more beautiful in my entire life. It was so surreal and I couldn’t believe the pictures were me. You far exceeded my expectations of what I wanted to look like on my wedding day and you made me look and exactly how I hoped to and more!”

Kailee OMahoney

February 8, 2016

“I have never felt more beautiful and sexy than when she did my makeup. She is so talented and I trust her opinion 100%. I can tell she really wants to not only make me look good but make me feel good to!”

Kimberly Clizbe

February 25, 2016

“I felt like a movie star! Bri is AMAZING! She truly captured my personality and the feel of my wedding in my makeup. I felt so glamorous and beautiful.”